


The blue hour

by opal_libra



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Light Swearing, M/M, Multi, Pre-Relationship, chaotic bisexuals harry and audrey need to confess to their crushes but just won't do it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26269570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opal_libra/pseuds/opal_libra
Summary: "Maybe we should both make our moves.""Yeah, right."Harry's chest shakes as he starts to laugh, so Audrey leans back and meets his eyes. He looks so genuinely amused, like the funniest thing he can think of is the notion that they'd both actually go and confess to the people they really want.// AKA the one in which two chaotic bisexuals have a no-strings-attached situation to help them cope while they dance around the feelings they have for other people. Tagged for Mevie because they're referenced as a background ship.
Relationships: Ben/Harry Hook, Ben/Harry Hook/Uma, Evie/Audrey Rose (Disney), Evie/Mal (Disney), Harry Hook & Audrey Rose, Harry Hook/Uma
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	The blue hour

**Author's Note:**

> You know that one extremely specific, highly self-indulgent fanfiction that just stubbornly refuses to exist unless you yourself write it? That's what this is for me.

She wakes before dawn.

The cold light that should be streaming in through her half-drawn pink curtains is blocked, and she blinks the sleep away until a familiar silhouette swims into view. He's sitting on the bed, staring out towards the window, his back to her. Oh, Audrey knows that slump in his shoulders.

"Thinking about her?" she asks softly. If Harry's surprised to hear her voice, he doesn't show it.

"You could say that," he returns. "Though if you're awake right now, I'm guessing it's not because you couldn’t wait to see me."

Audrey snorts. "Of course not."

"Ouch."

"Just being honest."

Harry turns away from the window and swings his legs back onto the bed, leaning on his left arm. He regards Audrey with an expression of mild amusement. She rolls her eyes. That's enough to make him chuckle, his lips curving upwards in a shallow imitation of the kinds of grins that only one person is able to draw from him. Audrey's long since given up on trying not to think about those kinds of things when they're together like this. It's better not to have to pretend; it's much nicer to take these encounters at face value and not try to trick her heart into feeling jealous of Uma for the hold she has on Harry. Audrey is perfectly - painfully - aware of who it is she really wants, and that person is certainly not the pirate currently observing her with one eyebrow raised.

"Is there something on my face?" she asks, not quite bothered to drum up the effort it would take to make the words sound sharp.

"Not at all."

"Then why are you staring at me?"

Harry yawns, rubbing his eyes with one hand. The motion smudges his eyeliner. How he manages to pull the raccoon-eyed look off as well as he does, even with kohl smeared across one cheek, Audrey will never know. When he meets her eyes again, his expression is flat but the twinkle in his eyes gives him away.

"How should I put this... You're not as difficult to read as you think you are, Audrey." Knowing that it's bait isn't enough to stop her from rising to it.

"Oh, really?" she says. "How rich, coming from the guy who thinks I haven't figured out who he's really after."

"I don't make a secret of-"

"I'm not talking about your captain," she interrupts, careful not to say Uma’s name. Harry would never hurt her, but Audrey’s not about to try and genuinely piss him off by sounding like she's having a go at his beloved sea witch. A beat of silence passes. Slowly, Harry starts to shake his head.

"Wasn't sure you'd pick up on it." He gives her just enough time to be smug before playing his trump card. "I'll admit, I was a wee bit worried you wouldn't appreciate me being interested in the guy you're pretending to be hung up on."

"Pretending?" Audrey says, accidentally hitching her voice up.

"That's right. I'm not blind - I know a cover-up story when I see one. Aye, don't make that face, I wasn't going to tell anyone."

"Good."

"Tell me one thing. It's a girl, isn't it?"

Shut up, Audrey wants to say. Instead she lets her own averted eye contact answer the question for her. Out of the corner of her eye, Audrey watches Harry shift until he's lying down again. He sighs.

"You really think I'd judge you?"

"I guess not."

"Then why all the secrets?" It could easily be a loaded question, but that's not how Harry asks it. He's... genuinely just curious, Audrey realizes. After thinking it over, she decides it can't hurt to open up a little, not if it's to him.

"She's taken." The words come out tinted with a bitterness Audrey wishes she could've let go of by now. "And it's going to stay that way for the foreseeable future. So there's no point in telling you about it, because I haven't got a chance, no matter what."

He's quiet for a moment. "Well, whoever she is, she's missing out," he finally says. Audrey swats half-heartedly at his arm.

"You'd better not be flirting with me."

Harry's eyes go comically wide. "Me?"

"Who else? No, don't give me that look," she says, but she can't even pretend to be angry. He definitely isn't flirting, at least not seriously. That's what makes their arrangement work - neither of them is truly interested in the other, and they're very clear about that, so they don't ever risk leading each other on. It's let them develop a weird kind of friendship that feels like it shouldn't be allowed, somehow. Harry meant what he said. Audrey watches as he tries not to burst into laughter, a small smile tugging at her own lips. Yes, she's certainly started to become fond of this guy, even if she has no romantic interest in him.

"Harry?" she says. "I think you've got a chance. With Ben, I mean."

His body tenses a little as she breaks their unspoken rule of not naming names.

"Oh?" he says.

"He has... He... You're his type." Audrey wants to look away, wishes she'd never brought this up - but Harry's been a good friend to her, and she doesn't have many of those these days. She takes no joy in seeing him longing for something he could actually have. "I mean it."

"Why, thank you," says Harry. "I don't know her too well, but if you ask me, you do seem like Evie's type."

"What-" Audrey splutters, shooting upright into a sitting position and nearly hitting her head. Panic rises in her throat. If he's noticed, if he's so sure it's Evie, then is she not hiding it well enough? What if other people have picked up on it? What if-?

"Audrey." He sits up, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Relax."

"How long have you known for?" she asks.

"I just put it together," he replies. She knows he's lying, so she stares at him until he tells the truth. "Alright, so maybe I've known for a while. What does it matter? You didn't want to talk about it, and whether it's your ex or a girl you fancy, you're here with me to forget about them. I can respect that."

"Oh," Audrey says simply.

Silence settles between them. Harry's hand is warm on her shoulder, and she finds herself appreciating the comfort his touch brings. The rush of adrenaline just now has left her pretty tired; she slumps forward until her head rests on his chest. They stay like that for a moment, both lost to their own thoughts. Finally Harry speaks.

"Maybe we should both make our moves."

"Yeah, right."

Harry's chest shakes as he starts to laugh, so Audrey leans back and meets his eyes. He looks so genuinely amused, like the funniest thing he can think of is the notion that they'd both actually go and confess to the people they really want. That thought is as stupid as it is depressing.

"No, but can you imagine?" he says. The look in her eyes makes him backpedal quickly. "Never mind-"

"Hey, Evie," Audrey says, tossing her head back and plastering on a falsely sweet smile, "I know you're happily dating the girl you've liked since you were little, but I was wondering if you wouldn't want to dump her and go out with me instead?"

There's a beat, then Audrey starts laughing at her own impression of herself. Harry grins at her. She gestures to him, wordlessly letting him know that it's his turn now. He clears his throat.

"Ben - ah, sorry,  _ King _ Ben - is there any chance you're interested in men? Pirates specifically would be great. And if you'd be open to abandoning that pesky crown and sailing away with Uma and her crew, myself included of course, well, that would just be lovely."

"That's the first time I've heard you say anything in such a polite way," Audrey remarks.

"And the last," says Harry, and she has to lean against the headboard to steady herself as she erupts into laughter again. The room is now bathed in the kind of blue light that only comes about moments before the sun starts to crest the horizon, and Audrey is all too aware of how little sleep the two of them have gotten. She lets herself sink into the pillows. Harry joins her.

"Look at us, sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves," he says.

"At least we have a sense of humor about it." Audrey's really just glad to not have to keep those thoughts bottled up inside anymore. Even if it's just during these encounters with Harry, at least she can be honest with herself about her feelings for a bit. Far be it from her to take that for granted.

"That's true." Harry yawns. "Be even funnier if they could see us now."

"Uma would kick your ass."

"She would."

Audrey's eyelids start to feel heavy. She curls up with her back to the window, and to Harry. A little breeze tickles her cheek, and she dimly realizes he must've opened the window before she woke up. She wants to grab her shirt, but a wave of sleep is already starting to pull her under. Before she slips away, she gets out one last thought.

"Ben's interested in men, by the way. He talks in his sleep."

She thinks she hears Harry click his tongue, but she doesn't quite catch his response as sleep overtakes her.


End file.
